


A Kind of Partnership

by Chosenfire



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-19
Updated: 2012-12-19
Packaged: 2017-11-21 15:15:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/599218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chosenfire/pseuds/Chosenfire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Laurel asked for Oliver's help she never expected the revelation that would come with it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Kind of Partnership

**Author's Note:**

  * For [htbthomas](https://archiveofourown.org/users/htbthomas/gifts).



> Thank you for being such an amazing recipient. Before assignments went out I had actually had your letter saved as a possible treat so I was really excited to get it. I hope you enjoy this, I tried my best to include many of your prompts/likes as I could. The canon updates at your journal were also amazing to see (and inspired me to include Felicity in this fic) as well as seeing your excitement and encouragement over twitter/tumblr. If I could have I would have sent you some anon reassurance ;D
> 
> Thank you so much to my amazing beta M! I also want to thank A for encouraging me to stay on track, even without knowing the fandom, and B for reading each bit I sent her and reassuring me it didn't completely suck.

When she had learned he was alive she hadn’t been happy, which must have seemed like she didn’t care about him. There was the fact that he had cheated on her with her sister, something she couldn’t even be mad about because they both were dead. It wasn’t exactly fair to hate a dead person, but it didn’t stop her from trying. 

So, when she had learned Oliver was in fact alive and had been surviving on an island for the past five years she had felt angry. For five years she had tried to move on, had tried to let go of the stab of betrayal and mourn her sister and the man she had loved. She had actually managed to convince herself she was at peace with it all. Then Oliver Queen had returned from the dead and Laurel had to stop lying to herself.

She wasn’t over it, she hadn’t moved on. A part of her hated him for being alive while her sister was still dead, and a larger part hated that she still cared about Oliver Queen – and for better or worse she needed his help. 

“I’m not sure what you need from me?” Oliver followed her to her desk and Laurel picked up the folder she had put on top. It was worn from being read and reread. It had lived in her briefcase for the past week and had the coffee stains to prove it. 

She handed it over to him.

“I know you’ve shown a distinct lack of interest in your family's company but you still have access that I don’t, and I need the employee records for this warehouse from two years ago.” She hated asking him for anything, but he was her best shot. 

She also wasn’t above using her personal connection with him to help her with a case. 

“That warehouse is from a company we acquired while I was gone. I don’t really know anything about it.” He admitted after a quick glance. 

“You don’t have to know it. You just have to access Queen Consolidated employee records from that time. The records would be there with the merger. I tried to get them and they shut me out.” 

Oliver closed the folder and let it rest at his side as he faced her. “Why do you need them? I’d like to know what I’m getting into before I poke around my families company.” And it was a fair request. Laurel hadn’t expected him to do it without asking some questions. Hell, any one would.

“Two years ago there was a break in at the warehouse before Queen Consolidated took it over. The workers were all killed and the place was emptied. My father investigated but they only managed to catch one of the guys responsible. He didn’t give away any of his accomplices and never said what they were there for, and Queen Consolidated went on record saying the warehouse was just holding defective equipment.” Which didn’t explain the state of the art security system that had been discovered deactivated when the police got there. A fact that had been like pulling teeth for Laurel to get from her father. “A few weeks back the mother of the man they had been arrested approached me. Her son was killed in a prison riot. She thinks he was targeted because he made a deal with the police to give away his accomplices in exchange for a reduced sentence and police protection. In her son's items were letters. She thinks one of them is from an accomplice.”

“And that accomplice was an inside man, that’s why you need the employee records.” Oliver caught on quick, and Laurel nodded. “Why don’t the police know this?” She knew he meant her father. Why hadn’t she told her father?

“Because ‘the police’ don’t trust my source. They wouldn’t even listen to her. She was killed a week ago, car accident.”

“You think she was killed because she was asking questions?” She was still caught by how much he had changed. He had used to be so open; some people had called it naïve. It was what had drawn her to him at first. He wasn’t anymore. Sure he acted the part; he smiled and he waved and he was merry. But the smile never quite reached his eyes and Laurel wasn’t an idiot. Someone didn’t come away with the scars he had and not be affected by how they had got them. She didn’t know him as well as she once did, but he still knew her and that’s what she was counting on. 

“Yes. I think her son committed a crime. I think he wanted out, and I think he was killed because of that. I think she was onto something and I think they killed her so it wouldn’t come out.” Laurel trusted her gut. It told her Oliver had hiding something and it told her she wasn’t being lead on by this.

“Do you have the letters?”

“She gave them to me when we meet.” Laurel had them at her house, in her safe. It was a little paranoid but two people had already been killed and the answer to why was in one of those letters. 

“Okay. I’ll do it," he said, handing her back the file. “I can’t go now; the offices are closed for today. I can go by tomorrow while Walter takes his lunch.”

“Great,” Laurel put the file back on her desk and grabbed her purse “Thank you for doing this. Let me know the time and I’ll be there.” She started walking to the elevator, Oliver falling into step beside her. 

“Laurel, you’re not coming with me.” And he sounded like he actually believed that. 

She pushed the down button and didn’t even turn to face him. “I’ve put too much time into this case to not see it through, so yes I am coming with you. Deal with it.” She turned to him. “Now I have to go home and read through those letters so I can match a name to one tomorrow.”

“Let me help.” and Laurel really shouldn’t. She was grateful for him agreeing to do this but depending on Oliver could end up leading her down a path she wasn’t sure she wanted to revisit.

“I keep them in my apartment.” Oliver came to stand beside her a smile playing across his lips. Laurel had never done the smart thing, not where Oliver Queen was concerned.

***

She was tired, the pizza she was chewing on had long gone cold, and after her third paper cut Laurel was considering putting on gloves. Oliver grunted beside her when she got up and Laurel waved off his questioning look.

She took the moment to stretch out the cramp in her back and picked up the almost empty box of pizza, depositing it on her counter as she grabbed a mug. "The coffee is done, do you want a cup?" she peaked around the corner to ask.

Oliver looked up from the letter he was flipping through, two different piles beside him. "Oh yeah, that would probably help." He set it down and what they'd dub the 'probably not' file, crossing off a name on the list they were using, and picked up another letter.

Laurel went back to the kitchen, filling two cups up and taking a moment to breathe it in. She took them back into the front room, curling her bare feet into the carpet for warmth, and handed Oliver his cup.

He accepted it with a smile, putting the letter he was holding in their 'maybe' pile and writing the name down on the list they were keeping. He blew on the top, before taking a quick sip.

"Thanks, how many of these are left?" He shook out his hand and Laurel laughed. She had forgotten that he was like this when he was tired.

"Just one more stack. I will say James Allen was pretty damn popular." 

"His mom wrote him more than anyone else though." Oliver pointed out, putting another letter into the pile they had put aside as letters from his mother. 

"She loved him, even after what he had done." Laurel put her cup down on the table picking up yet another letter and dismissing it to the no pile right away. It was written in pink and all the I's were dotted with hearts. "She told me that they never gave her any details on how he died, just that there had been a riot and he'd been killed. She said not even knowing was the worst part." 

"Laurel." Laurel looked at him; he had put his cup down. There was a pained expression on his face. 

"I told her I understood how she felt, because when you don't know you can't help but wonder. You wonder if they knew they were going to die? If they were scared?" Her voice broke.

It had been five years and the saying that time healed all wounds was a lie. Some days she could forget, but it was never better, and it still hurt.

"Do you want to know?" She nodded. She should have told him no. It wasn't fair for her to make him remember something that painful. The little he had talked about what happened it had been clear how hard it was for him. She had seen how he would flinch at things everything, and she would never forget the look on his face as he had recounted his father shooting himself in front of him.

But she needed to know, because it was eating her up inside, not knowing what was worse.

"We didn't know what was going on. I thought it was just a storm." He wasn't even looking at her anymore. "Sarah was...she was beside me one moment and the next she was being ripped away. I couldn't even do anything. I remember her reaching for me." Oliver reached for his cup, his hand shaking as he set it back down.

"She was pulled into the water, and I blacked out. The next thing I knew I was in the water watching as the boat sank."

Laurel wiped away the tears from her cheeks, and gritted her teeth against the onslaught of more.

His voice was ragged. "I wake up sometimes still seeing her reach for me and I can't..." Laurel grabbed his hand and held on tight. He looked at her face and his breath evened out. "I'm sorry."

"You couldn't do anything, it just happened." And that's why Laurel didn't blame Oliver in the way her father did. He didn't kill Sarah, he slept with her, and if she hadn't been on the yacht she wouldn't be dead. But he didn't kill her, and he cared. Laurel could hate him for cheating on her with her sister, but she couldn't hate him for not saving her when she knew he would give anything to have been able to.

Laurel pushed the rest of the letters aside and stood, pulling Oliver up with her. "I don't think we're getting anymore done tonight. Let's go for a walk."

She turned to grab her coat, giving Oliver the opportunity to wipe his eyes. 

He checked his watch coughing to clear his throat. "It's 2am." He pointed out, like it would matter to her.

"Lucky thing I live in a good neighborhood, there is a part a couple of blocks down. You can push me in the swing." Later that day, after they had both gotten some sleep, she would go with him to Queen Consolidated to get that list of names. Because Margaret Allen would never know how her son died, but Laurel would make sure her death meant something. Because hers was a death that someone was at fault for. 

Hers hadn't just happened and there was actually something Laurel could do to make things right.

***

“Why is he here again?” Laurel pointed to Oliver’s latest shadow.

“I go wherever Mr. Queen goes, despite his best efforts to stop me.”

“Diggle is my bodyguard. He protects me from paper cuts.”Oliver slapped the other man on the shoulder as they walked into the main floor of Queen Consolidated. “You can trust him.” 

"I don't even trust you," she admitted honestly. and Oliver just kept smiling.

"Hey Felicity!" Oliver greeted the blonde behind the desk, who Laurel had already tried to get to part with some information. She had to admire the woman's loyalty. "Could I have access to the employee records from DresCorp? Queen Consolidated took it over last year."

"I'm not sure..." Felicity's eyes were straight on her and Laurel knew what was coming. That didn't mean Oliver gave up.

"Please? I know Miss Lance asked for them; she was doing a favor for me. I should have asked you for them myself but things have been kind of awkward here since..."

"Since you decided to turn your back on the company your father built and the one your mother wants you to one day run," Felicity finished for him. "Not that it's any of my business, of course." She refocused her attention to the computer in front of her, typing frantically "We do have the records. Unfortunately they aren't kept on the mainframe so I would have to go down to the basement to get them."

Oliver gave her a pleading smile. "Which I can do now, I'll be right back."

"Thank you, Felicity. This really means a lot to me." He sounded sincere.

"Not a problem at all, Mr. Queen." She headed to the elevator.

Laurel caught Oliver's eyes as he turned from where he was watching Felicity leave. "Really?" He just shrugged. "I begged her to let me see the files. I'm this close to bribing her, and you got them with just a please?"

Oliver grinned. "What can I say? I'm what some people would call charming. You might want to work on that." His smile only widened as she glared at him.

Diggle cleared his throat and Laurel could have sworn he was trying not laugh.

Laurel checked her phone while they waited, refusing to stroke Oliver's ego anymore. Joanna had tried calling her again and Laurel felt a little guilty for ignoring her calls. Firing back a quick text that she was fine and would be back in the office tomorrow Laurel put her phone away when the elevator chimed.

Felicity was back, a folder in her hand that she handed to Oliver with a smile. "Let me go out on a limb and guess you don't want Mr. Steele to know about this?"

"If you could…" Oliver trailed off, passing the folder to Laurel.

"My lips are sealed. Just don't let that be anything that can get the company in trouble. I like my job." The last bit was directed to Laurel.

Laurel nodded. "I promise." It was an easy promise to make. Queen Consolidated wasn't at fault and someone had gone to great lengths to use the company to bury the file. 

Not wasting any time, she opened it and started reading. Oliver looked over her shoulder as they walked side by side, Diggle a few steps behind them. Scanning the names quickly her eyes widened as she saw a familiar one.

"What is it?" Oliver asked, pressing the button to go down the lobby. They stepped into the elevator, Oliver standing closer than necessary. 

"James Preston Emmerson." If there was a touch of triumph in her voice it was deserved. "There was a letter from a J.P. " It was one of the names they had put into the ‘possibly’ pile. She closed the file and turned to Oliver. "We got him!"

His smile echoed hers and her breath caught at the soft look in his eyes. It was one she still dreamed about; it haunted her. In some of her weaker moments she wondered if he had ever looked at her sister like that. 

She had missed that look.

This time the smile actually reached her eyes, which she hadn’t seen much of since he had gotten back.

The elevator chimed, and Laurel tore her eyes away as Oliver stepped back hastily. She looked away from him only to meet Diggle's eyes and the smile he was giving her was sad.

Drawing herself up she exited the elevator. "I can drop this off with my father. It will give them a lead that they have to follow."

"You're not going to pursue it yourself." Oliver held the door open for her as they left Queen Consolidated and she shook her head.

"There is no legal case here that I can work with. It's not why I agreed to help Mrs. Allen. I told her I would find the link between her son and his accomplices and help bring them to justice, and I have. This is a job for the cops now." There was only so much she could do. "Besides, I don't think this town needs another vigilante."

An odd look passed over Oliver's face. Before Laurel could ask him about it there was a squeal of tires. A van pulled up to the curb behind Oliver's car. Laurel didn't even have time to comment on what was no doubt some stellar illegal parking before men in combat gear streamed out, their faces obscured by masks. There was no way in hell this was a coincidence. Laurel's heart raced as adrenaline hit her. 

Oliver grabbed her hand, his fingers digging into hers. They raced behind the corner of the building and down the alleyway hearing the shouts behind them. She was regretting the choice to wear heels today; fashionable yes, but also a pain in the ass to run in. 

"They must have been alerted that the files were accessed." Diggle yelled as they darted behind a dumpster. Seconds later the night air was filled with the sound of gunfire. Laurel ducked her head, her body pressed tightly to Oliver's as he tried to shield her and watched as Diggle pulled a gun out. Apparently having a bodyguard around did have its advantages. He peaked around the corner and fired off a few shots to keep back the men that were advancing. 

Laurel was already pulling out her phone to call her father when Oliver's hand covered hers. "There are too many of them and we can't hold them off until the cops get here." Oliver's voice was soft but firm. He turned to Diggle and his fingers slipped into Laurel's; she held on. "They aren't aiming to kill, they need to know how much we know and who we've told."

Diggle nodded. "Which explains them not advancing. They're waiting for me to run out of ammo." He pulled out another clip and ejected the empty one, sliding the new one in. "Which won't be long."

"You have to get Laurel out of here." Laurel tightened her grip on his hand. "I have the file and they'll want to know how much I know, I can hold them off so you can get her away."

"No." Laurel was pissed; that wasn't a good plan. "Oliver, no. You can't hold them off with your family's checkbook. Think of something else." She turned to Diggle. "You're his bodyguard. Protect him from his own stupidity!" 

"That isn't exactly easy." She could already see he'd made his choice. His next comment was directed to Oliver "and are you going to tell her or am I going to have to?"

There was that familiar look back in Oliver's eyes again. The one she could never really place but looked like regret. She'd seen him look that way too much lately.

"I think she'll figure it out." He squeezed her hand and pressed a quick kiss to her forehead, his breath soft against his skin and his words low and only for her. "I have to do this."

He pulled away and stood up. The folder curled in one of his hands and his eyes straight ahead. "Take Laurel to the warehouse. She should be safe there. Don't come for me." He left the cover of the dumpster and Laurel felt Diggle grab a hold of her, keeping her from following him.

"Funny how you think I'm going to listen." His gun was still drawn as he pulled her behind him and started walking them away from the direction Oliver was now running.

Her eyes widened in shock as he reached the first man and vaulted over him, only to kick him to the ground. The others swarmed him and he fought with a skill he shouldn't have. One she had only seen one man posses.

"Miss Lance, we should go." Laurel was angry but there wasn’t anything she could do, even as she watched Oliver went down and she let Diggle tug her away. This wasn’t over.

***

"You’re quiet." Diggle's voice was cautious as he pulled the car into the empty parking lot of a warehouse. She didn't know where he had gotten the car.

"Sorry, I'm still trying to process the fact that my ex is the Hood." She pinned him with a look before getting out of the car. Already walking to the door she could see a badly concealed security key pad. She wanted answers and John Diggle was going to give them to her.

He ran up behind her, reaching the door before she did. He quickly put in a code and opened the door.

Her jaw didn't drop when she entered but it was a close call.

So Oliver Queen really was the mysterious vigilante the media had dubbed the Hood. 

She walked fully into the room, spinning to take it all in. She saw the computers, the training equipment, the weapons, the _arrows_. Now that the shock was fading she wasn't as surprised as she should have been.

Her anger towards Oliver had blinded her to what had been right in front of her face all along. She knew he was hiding something. After everything that had happened though she just hadn't cared. Her sister was dead, her mother was gone, and her father has turned bitter and haunted. All of that she couldn't help but blame on Oliver. Unlike her father though she also blamed Sarah, and she blamed the world for massively sucking.

But she still didn't miss how Oliver had changed, and she'd almost figured it out but he had fooled them all again.

"So when Oliver was on the ankle monitor, was that you in the suit?" she demanded.

Diggle nodded "It was. Oliver figured there would be a connection made between his return and the arrival of the vigilante."

"So he got himself arrested and cleared his name." Laurel's laugh had a bitter edge to it and she moved to examine the arrows, tracing the tips with her fingers. She pulled one out and studied it. This entire thing was ridiculous.

"I would love to grill you for information on why Oliver is dressing around in leather and running around the city shooting scumbags with arrows. Hell, even more than that I would love to ask Oliver because he really owes me an explanation. But no, he decided he was going to be a great big hero and now we have to go save his ass."

"Miss Lance, if you will stay here I'll..."

"I'm sorry, no. I am not going to stay here. Either we do this together or you get out of my way and I'll find him on my own." She pulled out her phone, ready to call every contact she had for a hint of where they would have taken him. 

Diggle moved to one of the computers. "That won't be necessary." With a few clicks he brought up a map of the city, where in the corner in one of the city's factories a red light blinked.

"You didn't," she breathed out, hope rising in her.

"Oliver has a habit of disappearing on me. I thought it would be useful if I had a way of locating him."

"Good." For the first time since the van had pulled up Laurel was breathing easier. Grabbing a hair tie out of her purse she pulled her hair into a tight ponytail, knowing she would need it out of her face. She started looking for something in Oliver's arsenal she could use. She preferred to rely on her own skills, but it would help to be prepared. 

“We have to stop by my apartment on the way. I need a change of shoes.”

“We can do that,” Diggle handed her a leather bundle. She shook it out to reveal the hood that the vigilante was famous for wearing. “If you’re coming you’re going to need it.”

***

“Really, another warehouse?” Laurel kept her voice low as she followed the line of Diggle’s back. He was in full Hood attire and it was a bit disconcerting following the image of the vigilante that had Starling City and the entire police force in an uproar. "I wonder why the police don't just stake out everyone with the amount of criminal activity that seems to be focused on them."

"At least it makes the bad guys hiding spots a little predictable." Diggle sounded amused. He stopped suddenly; Laurel stopped with him. She followed his eyeline to where a guard stood in front of the door they needed to go through. The red dot on a map that Laurel had brought up on her phone showed her this is where they would follow Oliver.

The guard thankfully didn't look like he was taking his job all that seriously. There was a gun stuck in the waistband of his jeans and a cigarette in his lips as he played a game on his phone. The volume was up pretty high and from late nights Laurel had spent at the office it sounded like he was playing Angry Birds.

"When taking him out we can't alert the others, so it needs to be quiet." Diggle had one of the high powered bows the Hood was known for using relaxed at his side.

"Leave it to me then." Laurel drew the small crossbow she had picked out of Oliver's arsenal. Bows and arrows were a bit beyond her skill set but she used to go hunting with her dad. She crept past Diggle, taking a moment to determine the trajectory she needed before rounding the corner and firing. The dart hit the man in the throat. His phone clattered to the ground as he brought his hand up to touch it. He was on the ground a second later. Laurel and Diggle raced forward towards the door.

Diggle leaned down to check his pulse before grabbing the gun and ejecting the clip. "He should be out for at least an hour, which should give us plenty of time."

Laurel had decided to go with tranquilizer darts. 

"Hopefully we won't need it." She opened the door slowly and peaked in. "I don't see any guards," she declared as she crept in. Diggle followed shutting the door behind her. 

"Hopefully, our friend at the door was the only one they had here. I don't imagine they expected company, and the rest could be out looking for you." She grimaced. There had been a close call at her apartment.

Laurel walked further into the warehouse. Her heart caught in her throat as a new angle showed her where they had been keeping Oliver. A long chain hung from the roof and attached to it, arms stretched above him and bare feet brushing the ground, was Oliver. Blood flowed down his chest from a few shallow cuts and his left side looked bruised.

"Oliver!" Her voice was thick with emotion. Laurel swung the crossbow across her back and raced forward, pushing the borrowed hood off her face. "Oliver!" Her voice was louder and her hands gripped his waist. 

His eyes opened, and upon seeing her he groaned "I thought I told you not to come."

Diggle came up to them, a flash of silver in his hand. He reached above where Oliver's hands were shackled as he began to work the lock. "That was a stupid thing to say."

When Oliver looked at her Laurel didn't even blink. "Almost as stupid as dressing up in leather and playing at being a superhero."

He eyed her up and down. "I guess my stupidity is catching." He winced as the shackles fell away and he fell to the ground. Diggle and Laurel caught him, and Laurel helped get Oliver's arms settled around Diggle's shoulders as the other man held him up.

"Well, I make it look better." There was yelling outside where their napping guard's friends had obviously found him.

"Guys, I can..." Oliver started and they both ignored him. He could barely keep his eyes open and looked seconds from passing out.

Laurel pulled the crossbow back around and nodded to a corner of the warehouse that offered some cover with a large stack of boxes "Get him over there, I can take them." She pulled the hood back up to cover her face.

Diggle smiled. "I'll drop off Sleeping Beauty there and come and help you." 

"I hate you both." Oliver groaned as he let Diggle shuffle him over to where he could have some cover. Laurel grinned and felt a rush of adrenaline as she moved in position.

When the goons rushed in Laurel was ready, firing off two quick darts before getting in close and using the bow to bash away a hand with a gun that was just starting to point her way. She had just elbowed another guy in the face before she saw an arrow fly and knock down another goon beside her.

Apparently Oliver Queen wasn't the only one who could play at being a vigilante.

***

Laurel brushed her hair back with her fingers, her body aching and sleep pulling at her skin. She settled into the chair beside the bed, her hand tracing his fingers.

"You know watching someone when they're sleeping is kind of creepy." Oliver's voice sounded rough with sleep but his eyes were open and clear. He caught her fingers and tangled his hand with hers. 

"Hey Sleeping Beauty," she squeezed back. "Although you're not looking too pretty right now." There was a bruise forming above and below his eye and a cut on his cheek. Luckily there was no swelling but it was going to be a week or two before it faded.

"Thanks," he grinned "you sure know how to hit my ego."

"Your ego need it." Getting serious she asked "So what are you going to tell your family?" The smile left her eyes and her mouth got tight. It seemed all he had done since he got back was lie. She now knew just how much.

"I'll tell them I got in a fight at a bar, they'll believe it." He tried to sit up and she leaned forward to help him. He winced as he settled back down. "You're mad at me, it's okay."

"John told me about the list." She didn't let go of his hand but she didn't let up on him. "He told me about your father, the list, what little of the island you shared with him. He thought I deserved to know the truth. Hell, I needed to know the truth Oliver."

"I know." He sounded sad, regretful.

"So I know why you're doing it, I get it, okay. But you have to be honest with me." She knew why he lied to everyone. He had told her as the Hood, to protect the people he cared about. "I can protect myself." She pulled her hand away from his. "And you need people to protect you too." She grabbed her purse off her the floor and slipped it on her shoulder, leaning forward to press a kiss to his cheek.

"Laurel…” There was a plea in his voice, hiding another lie, another explanation. 

"No, I'm in. You don't get to push me away anymore. Get better. I'll be back tomorrow and we can talk about all the unnecessary killing and how you've managed to piss off my father as the vigilante as well." 

When she turned to leave she caught a smile working its way on his lips.


End file.
